Beginner’s guide to direct response marketing examples

Direct response marketing examples include discounts. Who doesn’t love a discount? Offering a discount is a great way to convert a prospective patient into an actual one.

There are several different types of strategies that you can use as part of your overall marketing campaign — we’ll go into some, along with direct response marketing examples.

For example, education about chiropractic care can be viewed as a long-term marketing strategy that pays off by familiarizing prospective patients with the concepts of chiropractic and its benefits. But it takes time to convince prospective patients of the value of chiropractic care and, even at that, may not guarantee an immediate conversion. On the other hand, patient education’s major advantage is that it allows you to build a relationship with prospective patients.

Conversely, direct response marketing will not establish a connection with each prospective patient. However, it will quickly motivate prospective patients to convert into actual ones. Direct response strategies provoke an immediate desired action from your prospective patients. Let’s take a closer look at what goes into direct response marketing, its components, direct response marketing examples, and how you can use it as an effective tool for your overall marketing campaign.

What is direct response marketing?

Direct response marketing is meant to provoke an immediate response from the target audience. This type of marketing strategy drives fast conversion rates by presenting the prospective customer with an offer that is simply too good for them to pass up.

It can use a variety of channels, including direct mail, digital mail, radio, television, and even influencer endorsements.

Direct response marketing examples

Discounts: Who doesn’t love a discount? Offering a discount is a great way to convert a prospective patient into an actual one. Remember, the secret is to make that discount enticing enough so that your target cannot just pass it up.

Free gift: The one thing people love more than a discount is a free gift. Offering a free gift for first-time patients is a great way to convert potential patients into actual ones. Of course, you will want to make that gift something that patients will find valuable, such as a bottle of supplements, a stretch band, or a small foot roller.

Loyalty rewards: Although direct response is often used as a “one and done” strategy, it can also be used more than once to build brand loyalty, such as via referral programs, reward points, or bundle discounts on items such as supplements. Unlike direct response offers targeted toward prospective patients, these types of offers are meant to thank your patients who have been with you for the long haul.

Spell out the terms of your offer

There are several valuable pieces of information that you will need to include for any direct response marketing piece you send out, particularly those that are offering a service or item. You will need to clearly lay out the terms of the offer, including:

• What is/is not included in the offer
• The amount of any discount
• Any expiration date for the offer
• How to claim or redeem the offer
• Any limit on the number of items in the offer

With these direct response marketing examples, while it is true that direct response marketing relies on immediate action from prospective patients, rather than nurturing and cultivating them, it still should be part of your overall marketing campaign. Direct response marketing helps you “get them in the door,” after which you can work on converting them to loyal brand customers.